STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — At the end of the 19th century, the temperance movement was alive and well on Staten Island. Prohibition Park was drawing crowds of 4,000 to hear famous people like Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryant speak.

By 1919, the movement succeeded in passing the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and on Jan. 16, 1920, it became illegal to sell or manufacture alcohol.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Staten Island, a speakeasy known as Barat’s Old Beach Inn was doing a booming business.

Originally the Annadale Beach Inn, Annie Barat and her husband Peter renamed the Inn about 1915; it had a bar, hotel and restaurant with some of the best food on Staten Island. An old postcard of the Inn boasts of “broiled steaks and lobsters, dancing, camps, bungalows and picnic grounds — 1,000 feet east of Hylan Boulevard at Annandale Beach.”

After Peter died, Madam Barat continued to operate the Inn. She was a very hard-working woman and even grew much of the produce she served in the restaurant.

During Prohibition, the Inn attracted both famous and infamous people, including Charles (Lucky) Luciano. According to Walter Stojanowski, “Luciano was shot and left for dead outside the Inn.”

Although the details of this event are difficult to confirm, some things seem to be true. Luciano was abducted, beaten and left for dead not far from the Inn, but why and by whom still remain a mystery. (We’ll get into this in another column.)

Born in Elm Park, Walter was a self-made man. He worked as a short-order cook at the Richmond Clipper in Port Richmond, hotels in Florida and North Carolina, and as a fireman in New York City.

Walter’s entrepreneur career began in 1957, when he bought a snack bar by the bus garage on Dubois Avenue. Two years later, he and his sister Helen bought Barat’s Old Beach Inn and renamed it The Beachcomer.

Shortly after they bought the Inn, Walter and Helen stopped renting rooms when they realized they were used for one-night stands, an activity they did not condone. The rooms were converted into apartments and Walter and Helen moved in.

The restaurant and bar once again became a hot spot. In particular, it attracted 18 year olds from New Jersey who could not drink legally in their state. When the disco era began, Walter expanded the dance floor, attracting people from all over, even Brooklyn (including me and my friends).

It was a great place, especially in the summer, when you could cool off with a walk near the beach.

In 1973, when the drinking age in New Jersey was reduced to 18, the disco business slowed, and when New York’s drinking age was raised to 21 in 1985, Walter decided to convert the facility to a catering hall for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and other special occasions.

During much of this time, Walter was also working as a fireman, and although many of his firefighter friends thought he made a mistake, Walter saw its potential.

Like many successful businessmen, Walter was involved in every aspect of the business. He would go to the market twice a week to select produce; he helped serve during the cocktail hour and reception. He even served as maitre d’ and emcee.

Over the years, Walter developed many friends, but perhaps one of the most famous was social advocate Dorothy Day. He knew her from her earlier days on Staten Island. In fact, he bought two houses from Dorothy on Zephyr Avenue.

When she decided to return to the Island, he helped her buy a house in Spanish Camp. Dorothy frequently visited Walter and Helen at The Beachcomber, where they would sit in the kitchen and talk.

Walter and Helen threw her a birthday party at The Beachcomber and often sent food to her house from the kitchen. Helen even drove Dorothy to St. Joseph by the Sea for mass.

All good things come to an end, and in 1994, The Beachcomber closed its doors for good to make way for new homes.

For many of us, there are just memories of bygone days of disco dancing and parties, but for those who once worked at the famed Beachcomber, there is a lot more.

Each year, Walter hosts a reunion for all of his former employees and their families; hundreds attend every year and recall the good old days on Staten Island’s South Shore.

BITS & PIECES

The next si350 Memories event will be held on June 4 at the Huguenot Park Library. The program begins at 2 p.m. and the event is free. Everyone is invited to come and share their memories.